Gloriana

Gloriana (aka Earth[1]) is the fantasy world that the affairs and events of the entire Quest for Glory series revolve around. Not much is known about Gloriana, although from the geographic regions and cultural societies encountered throughout the series, as well as hints from dialog by in-game characters, it appears to be loosely based off of our own world.

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Despite the outward semblance to historical Earth, and the heavy borrowing of fantasy elements from well-known works of fiction, Gloriana is unique in that the societies and cultures represent similar cultures that once existed in Earth history (from ancient Egyptians, Romans, Medieval, to Victorian) each co-existing in the same world. This intermingling of technological periods has spurred various anachronisms throughout Gloriana, and both the worlds of science and magic appear to co-exist, albeit uneasily.

A major event which separates Gloriana from Earth is the Change, an event which made animals sentient at some point in the past.

In QFG5 there are many examples where the world is described as being the 'earth' by its inhabitants, and in particular the scientists, such as using the term 'Earthquake'[2]. Similar descriptions appear in previous games but to lesser extent (while the term 'earth' is mentioned quite a bit in QFG2, it is primarily used in context of elements and soil).[3] QFG4 has almost as many references to the planet being called earth as QFG5 in descriptions (going as far as showing an image of Earth to represent the element).

There are various other places that have been mentioned by in-game characters or the Correspondence Course manuals packaged with each installment of the series. Some are injokes or homages to locations in the real world or other fiction. Contrary to popular belief the Quest for Glory games didn't always mask place names behind puns, anagrams or archaic place names. Many of the early games tended to use specific modern place names for areas outside of the visited region. Even QFG4 made a few modern place references, as did QFG5. QFG5 probably makes the most references to places outside of visited regions than any previous game (but some of these references give alternate names or places that exist together with places previously mentioned in other games). To name a few:

Its interesting to note that in the Dr. Brain series (tied to Quest for Glory through Dr. Cranium, QFG4 and the Shadows of Darkness Hintbook), that Dr Brain's EncycloAlmanacTionaryOgraphy, hints that the location of the Cerebral Hemisphere and Earth may be parallel worlds (or at least separate planets), "...these lines can be used to locate any point on the Cerebral Hemisphere and on Earth as well.", "You might also like to check out the map of Earth and the United States in the section entitled You Might Look it Up (On Dr. Brain's Bookshelf)". This of course could mean that Cerebral Hemisphere is a separate parallel universe from "Earth" (or if part of Gloriana, that earth and Gloriana are separate worlds).

In addition in the Dr. Brain series is Dr. Brain's main castle which was originally located high up in the Sierra mountains somewhere near Coarsegold and Yosemite near the former headquarters of Sierra On-line (on Earth), which further suggests that the Cerebral Hemisphere is separate world (parallel or otherwise) created by the Dr. himself.

Its worth noting that travel around the world is usually only described in relation to the four cardinal directions of east, west, north and south. There are very rare references to other directions made by characters. This seems to cause some geographical confusion in case of some locations in relation to others (and in comparison to their real world counterparts).

For example Shapeir is almost always said to lie 'south' of Spielburg. Shapeir is generally represents the "south" (though Tarna is 'farther south'). Mordavia and Spielburg are treated as "north" of Silmaria a few times. Spielburg often seems to represent 'north' in general, and Mordavia generally represents the 'east'. Silmaria was to represent 'west' but almost always south of everything else, and 'north' of Spielburg.

In QFG2 and QFG Authorized Guide the flying carpet is said to fly south to the 'southern desert', there is no indication of traveling in any other directions. Surprisingly there is no mention of them flying any major bodies of water. See Introduction before the Games.

However, landmarks within a land will often be described by other directions such as 'northeast', 'northwest', 'southeast', 'southwest' when related by characters and sometimes the narrator. QFG2 can be somewhat confusing as crossing the 'desert' flips the perspective of the directions after a certain point.

Gloriana was a fairy queen[5], and a nickame for Elizabeth the First, the world she knew could be referred to as the World of Gloriana.[6] Gloriana: In Service to the Crown (aka Gloriana: Elizabeth I) was a 1995/1996 PC strategy game by Ascaron.

The series as a whole has a tendency to use names for locations both modern and archaic or hidden behind anagrams or puns. Other references maybe utilized as in-jokes or references to pop culture.

Sometimes more than one term will be used that could refer to the exact same place. For example Rome, Roman Empire, Hesperia, Nova Roma, Italy could possibly all refer to the same location. Of these the first three or four are all variants are used in the same game. In another example, the Isle of Gramarye and Albion could refer to the same region. One term appears in QFG2 and the other appears in QFG5. In yet another example, Mariana, Marete, and Silmeria seem to all refer to the same region depending on the game the references are made. Mariana is mentioned in QFG3, Marete appears in QFG5, and the use of Silmeria appears throughout most of the series in varying ways. Yet another example Greece and Helena are both used in QFG5, and seem to roughly represent same general area. India is mentioned in QFG1VGA, and Inja is mentioned in QFG5.

This article or section contains concepts and developmental ideas, and new stories from Lori and Corey Cole outside of the official Quest for Glory series. This information may not reflect the official Quest for Glory universe as portrayed in the original material published, owned and copyrighted to Sierra On-line or Activision.

It has been stated by the Coles that the regions of Gloriana visited in the series (save for Tarna, which is exempt from the originally intended tetralogy) each corresponded with one of the four classic elements, as well as other symbolic tetrads, such as the cardinal directions and the four seasons. According to Lori Cole, Wages of War broke the analogy, having become a bridge story between the first half and the second half of the Hero's adventures.[citation needed]

According to Corey Cole, the name of the world is Gloriana as stated in QFGV, rather than Glorianna (although School for Heroes has used both). The name is created from a combination of Glory and Lori-Ann, the co-creator of the series. Gloriana was a world that was originally used by the Coles for their tabletop RPG campaigns.[7] Gloriana was adapted for use in the Cole's School for Heroes online rpg.[8] There are differences between the different versions of Gloriana, including place locations that only appear in their personal view of the world, some areas that are mentioned in the Quest for Glory games, that do not appear in their other versions of the world. In School for Heroes, Marete differs greatly from its appearance in Quest for Glory V[9]. Corey Cole has mentioned that in their tabletop version of the world for example, the Isle of Great Britain is called "Albumen" (a food related reference, and pun on "Albion"), in the School for Heroes it is called "Albion". In Quest for Glory 2, it is called "Isle of Gramarye" (a reference to Once and Future King), and in QFG5 a reference to "Albion" is made. In addition Willowsby and Devon Aidendale are not part of their versions of the universe, but were made canon when published by Sierra On-line. For more information see, Gloriana (alternate versions).

↑"According to legends, all streams and rivers that run into the earth flow all the way down to Hades." , "Seven Pillars bind the Darkness to the bowels of the earth.", "What is an Earthquake?... 2. A shaking of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in nature.", "Paean Unto Hades. All waters that flow in the earth, flow to Hades.", "These boulders are the bones of the earth.", "It looks like the water of this stream flows directly into the center of the earth from here.", "You pour the waters down into the depths of the earth, to the very waters of Hades.", "The stream is flowing the remains into the pit of the earth.", "All waters that flow on the earth flow to Hades.", "This looks like it was formed by a giant taffy pull between the sky and the bowels of the earth.", "This huge caldera looks like it leads to the center of the earth."

↑Narrator (QFG1VGA):"They either lead to large underground caverns, or they are all connected under the earth.", Narrator (QFG3):"Aardvarks are real sensitive about tremors, you know. Comes of being close to the earth, and all"

↑"Now you feel like climbing something even higher... like Mount Tarna."

↑"Our main objection to the Spiese book is that the Quest for Glory hero is supposed to be a reflection of the player. When Paula named her hero as Devon Aidendale, that became canon. We would have preferred he remain simply The Hero. But that's a trivial quibble."-Corey Cole[1]